.32 ACP in .32 Revolvers

[Green Frog]

Because .32 acp has generally been cheaper and readily available in bulk. And some of us have several .32 autos and acp works just fine in both but .32 Long doesn't seem to work very well in the autos.

That’s not my experience here in Central VA. About the only time I can count on finding 32 acp is from ammo dealers @ gun shows, and they’re pretty proud of it. Then again, about the only time I buy any factory 32 ammo these days is to get jacketed or other “high performance” stuff for “social work” so I don’t mind paying a little more.
Froggie

 

[DWalt]

Even though the .32 S&W case is about .08" shorter than the .32 ACP case, I have seen several old top breaks that will chamber .32 ACP cartridges adequately to lock up. I would have no hesitation to use .32 ACP in any ..32 Long revolver, but not in any .32 S&W-chambered revolver that will accept it. As someone mentioned earlier, .32 ACP in a .32 S&W Long revolver may result in weak firing pin strikes and fired case extraction problems. For those reasons, using .32 ACP in a .32 S&W revolver is OK for shooting cans and paper targets, but not for self-defense purposes.

 

[AJ]

That’s not my experience here in Central VA. About the only time I can count on finding 32 acp is from ammo dealers @ gun shows, and they’re pretty proud of it. Then again, about the only time I buy any factory 32 ammo these days is to get jacketed or other “high performance” stuff for “social work” so I don’t mind paying a little more.
Froggie

Most of these folks probably bought their .32 ACP before the current craziness!

 

[Green Frog]

That 327 is a fiery round...really loud. My wife shoots it ok but doesn't care for the noise. Surprisingly the ACP is fairly loud. The only thing I don't care for with the SP 101is the trigger pull. better with some shooting but still needs work. It is a muff and plug gun

That’s the beauty of the 327 Fed Mag chambering, you can load it with loads ranging from cat sneezes to dragon slaying. Is there any doubt as to why I love the 327?
As for trigger pull on your SP 101, I’d say that’s a problem built into most Ruger DAs, but one that is easily solved by a knowledgeable pistol smith.
Froggie

 

[AJ]

As for trigger pull on your SP 101, I’d say that’s a problem built into most Ruger DAs, but one that is easily solved by a knowledgeable pistol smith.
Froggie

Not all S101's have bad trigger pulls. I shot this with a friends SP101 after he was having trouble hitting the bullseye with it.

 

[Drm50]

On of the video gun experts did the 38Super in 38/357s. I knew it would theoretically work but I wouldn’t do it in a good gun or trust a cheap gun
with it.
The only info I got from this video was that all brands of 38Super didn’t fit all models of 38/357s. This kind of thing is handy to know in case of emergency. Other than that use the cartridge your shooter was made for.
Gets back to my personal observation, there are gun people and there are people with guns. Some of these people should not have a gun, a brick is above their pay grade.

 

[DWalt]

I have a long history of firing .38 Super ammunition in .38/.357 revolvers. Absolutely no problem in doing it, if it fits. Due to tolerance overlaps, SOME brands of .38 Super will fit and fire in SOME .38/.357 revolvers. And there is nothing hazardous in doing it. In fact, the .38 Super loads feel quite light. I have a friend who has a .38 Ruger Security Six, and it will accept all brands of .38 Super ammunition, and in all chambers. Personally, some of my .38 revolvers are choosy as to what ammunition brands, if any, they can use.

 

[kaaskop49]

Opinions on this topic have changed over the years! On an earlier thread re .32ACP in .32S&W Long guns, opinions were pretty strongly against such use due to the higher pressures of the ACP round. Apparently the emergence of new, hotter .32 ammunitions has caused opinions to soften somewhat.

I own no .32 S&W Long revolvers and plan to buy none, but there is a box of that ammo somewhere here, "just in case." IIRC, it is now ruinously expensive.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[alwslate]

That’s not my experience here in Central VA. About the only time I can count on finding 32 acp is from ammo dealers @ gun shows, and they’re pretty proud of it. Then again, about the only time I buy any factory 32 ammo these days is to get jacketed or other “high performance” stuff for “social work” so I don’t mind paying a little more.
Froggie

Plenty of .32 acp available from online sellers by the box or by the case. Prices are higher than before the pandemic but are cheaper than factory .32 Long squibs.

 

[Skeet 028]

That’s the beauty of the 327 Fed Mag chambering, you can load it with loads ranging from cat sneezes to dragon slaying. Is there any doubt as to why I love the 327?
As for trigger pull on your SP 101, I’d say that’s a problem built into most Ruger DAs, but one that is easily solved by a knowledgeable pistol smith.
Froggie

Surprisingly I've done a bunch of Smith triggers and Colt. Colt are a pain... The only Rugers I ever really did trigger work on was mostly spring replacement. I did some polishing on my old Model SBH... My 44 Sp Flattop(first year) has a very good trigger

 

[Model19man]

The Academy Sports location near me is selling 32 S&W Long for .70 cents a round. Fiocchi Shooting Dynamics .32 S&W Long 97-Grain FMJ Centerfire Handgun Ammunition | Academy

Meanwhile 32 ACP ammo is more expensive at 80 cents a round: Access to this page has been denied.

 

[alwslate]

Ammoseek is your friend.

 

[Grayfox]

I should have bought a 32 ACP cylinder for my 1895 Nagant when they were available.

I did buy one because at the time real Nagant ammo was scarce and expensive. It works just fine.

 

[alwslate]

Most of these folks probably bought their .32 ACP before the current craziness!

Yep, .32 acp has generally been more expensive than .380 acp but prices got pretty low right before the pandemic. Sam, of SG Ammo was warning people that prices of all ammo was at a 12 year low point and were going to go up. I believed him. So I stocked up on 9mm, ,380 and .32 acp. And .22 LR when bricks of the better stuff were around $17-$18. So now I have decent supply of about 30k, of .22LR, at least 7K of both .32 and .380 and at least 10 K of 9mm. At 78 I am not currently trying to buy at today's prices

 

[Model19man]

Ammoseek is your friend.

I can't see how it would be cheaper to ship ammo than to just go to the store. In any case I don't pay those kind of prices for ammo because I reload. My cost if I was to buy brand new brass every time is less than half of retail.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I have about 15 Top Break revolvers of various brands in both 32's and 38 S&W.

I ended up with two Davis Derringers in 32 ACP that I wanted to shoot in Belly Gun matches at SASS events. So I loaded 200 ACP brass with 32 S&W (short) loading data from Lyman #45. It works great in the Derringers, and the top breaks and still functions my 32 auto guns too.

Just don't plan on using it to defend youself from an angry man or any size dog!

Ivan

 

[Erich]

I worked on a murder trial in which .32 ACP in a schlocky .32 S&W revolver did the trick. Come to think of it, that guy should be up for parole on his life sentence this year . . .

 

[BSA1]

I ended up with two Davis Derringers in 32 ACP that I wanted to shoot in Belly Gun matches at SASS events. So I loaded 200 ACP brass with 32 S&W (short) loading data from Lyman #45. It works great in the Derringers, and the top breaks and still functions my 32 auto guns too.

Ivan

I did the same thing only I used 32 S&W. I observed that the diameter of the case heads are the same only the S&W rim is thicker. A machinist friend slightly deepened the end of both chambers until the S&W sits flush. A bonus is although the 32 ACP cartridge sits a little deeper the firing pin is still long enough to hit the primer.

I still had three boxes of 32 S&W sitting on a shelf. No longer have any use for them. I guess when things get really desperate with the zombies I will be with my back to wall armed with my little Derringer and remaining rounds of the S&W holding them off.

 

[Eddie Southgate]

Works fine in some and not at all in others. Try it in yours and see for yourself. Won't hurt anything if it don't work.

 

[DWalt]

I have experienced no FTFs using .32 ACP in a .32 Long revolver. But I have experienced empty extraction and ejection problems.